


Heavy Armor

by bluestrawberryiii



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, ace dimitri and acearo ingrid but it isnt plot relevant i just use it to torment sylvain, and you all get to watch me process that in real time, felix and ignatz are also here but they have 4 lines between them so they dont count, he unlocked feelings in me that homestuck told me humans couldnt feel, so now im just dealing w the fact that i want an anime man to be my kismesis ig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluestrawberryiii/pseuds/bluestrawberryiii
Summary: Edelgard thought of the discussion they'd had earlier that day, before Sylvain had descended into his insipid flirting. Perhaps she had no right to it, but she wanted to see that part of him again. She wanted to see who he was behind his strange, exhausting armor.Finally, she said: "I want to crack him open like a nut."Hubert looked down at her, the very picture of defeat. "If you must."
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier & Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 22
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrote this after my nanowrimo project (which had lots of 4k chapters oof) so get ready for short chapters, short sections, and minimal editing because boys i am CHILLIN

The results for their most recent exams had been posted on the billboards early that morning. All the students in the monastery crowded around one or the other, jostling to see how they’d placed against their peers. And though Edelgard was frustrated by the special treatment as the other students parted around her, she was much too excited to complain this time.

She was in the third highest spot, as it turned out. Claude was above her, as she had suspected he would be. Hubert had taken the place right below her - a place he took so consistently that Edelgard sometimes wondered if it was intentional. Annette was in fifth, with Ferdinand coming after her. Being so far below Edelgard would no doubt rankle him - and of course he would make it her problem somehow. She allowed herself a deep breath at the prospect of even more lunch hours interrupted for some aggravating competition.

But the thing that really caught her eye was the top grade. Just above Claude, with 110% (he’d even gotten the complicated extra credit question that she’d missed, damn him), was the name: _Sylvain Jose Gautier._

Now, Edelgard was well-informed on the noble houses in Faerghus, but she was less of an expert than she might have hoped to be on the students in Dimitri’s class. But from the little she’d heard of Sylvain from whispers around campus and Dorothea - oh, did Dorothea have things to say about Sylvain - it seemed he was… Well, to put it delicately, he didn’t seem the sort to get anywhere near top marks, let alone the highest grade on campus.

It was a little galling, if she was being honest with herself.

"Is there something wrong?" Hubert asked, once they'd moved away from the crowd.

"What do you know about Sylvain?"

Hubert's nose wrinkled. "Nothing good. I've seen him sneaking out to the town at all hours of the night. The way he interacts with his female peers is deplorable, and in the few seminars I’ve shared with him, he has never once paid attention. He is shameful at worst and inconsequential at best."

"And yet, he placed above Claude and I."

"That is true," Hubert allowed. "If you would like that remedied…" He trailed off, his silence charged with menacing insinuation. Though of course Edelgard knew it was a joke.

Probably.

"I would prefer to get to know him, actually."

He made a face. "Why would you ever want that?"

"Why wouldn't I? Perhaps there is a reason he wants to be underestimated."

"And perhaps he really is a simple rake."

"If that is all he is, then there will be no harm in confirming it," she said. There was a part of her - a larger part than she would have liked to admit - that hoped there was more to it. To be surpassed so soundly by someone of his reputation got under her skin.

* * *

The first thing she tried was getting him to spar with her. Part of the exam had tested the student's skill with their chosen weapon, and though she knew Faerghus was renowned for its warriors, she'd never once seen Sylvain training. She had occasionally seen him _in_ the training grounds, but he was always more occupied with lounging or flirting than he was with pointing a sword. Or a bow? Maybe an axe. She honestly didn't know.

His face lit up when she asked him after lunch. And although Edelgard considered herself adept at reading people, she couldn't tell if it was sincere or not. They met at the training grounds that evening. Felix was there, but when he saw Sylvain enter, his eyes flicked to Edelgard by his side and he left with a disgusted scoff. They were alone.

"What did your friend mean by that?" Edelgard asked.

Sylvain shrugged, walking over to the weapons rack and pulling out a lance - just like Dimitri and Ingrid. She should have guessed. "Felix is just like that," he said.

"I see him in here all the time," she said, grabbing her favorite training axe. It had a notch on the top, from when she'd nearly taken Ferdinand's head off on accident. "He's never taken much issue with my presence."

"Ah." He laughed, and Edelgard thought she detected a hint of discomfort in it. "Well, you _are_ with me. And you are a girl. It's not hard to connect the dots." He smirked, in a way that was just shy of insufferable. "Though I never thought someone as important as you would take notice of me, Princess."

"Perhaps he should have connected the dots differently," Edelgard said pointedly. She moved to the center of the grounds, holding her axe at the ready.

Sylvain had the gall to look surprised. "Is that not what's happening here?"

"Can you genuinely think of no other reason I might want to get to know you?"

He walked to the space across from her, tapping the end of his lance contemplatively on the sand between them. "The Margravate of Gautier would certainly be a useful ally if you were to move against the Kingdom." He shot her another smile, and this time she knew that there was nothing sincere about it. "If that's the case, you might as well give up now. His Highness is the closest thing I have to a little brother."

It was more than a little alarming that Sylvain’s first thought had gone to war - a war that he surely had no way to know about. She'd considered recruiting him for it, of course, in an abstract sense. Just as she'd considered Felix. After all, Faerghus would stand no chance if its border or its shield turned against it. But House Blaiddyd kept its vassals close, and the risks of trying to poach any one of Dimitri's nobles far outweighed the benefits. "It never occurred to me," she lied.

To his credit, Sylvain masked his doubt masterfully. "First three hits wins?" he asked instead, finally raising his lance into a loose beginning stance.

Edelgard nodded her assent, and Sylvain began to circle. She matched him, determined to force him into making his move first.

Eventually, he took the hint, sprinting forward and swinging his lance in a wide arc that left his entire side open. It was the kind of foolish mistake that would have been beaten out of a beginner on their first week of training. Edelgard swung her axe into his exposed ribs with bruising force.

Sylvain stumbled forward, lancepoint skidding into the sand, before turning back to her with a smile placed carefully over his pain. “Hah! You really got me, Princess. I’ll be feeling that for the next week, at _least.”_

Edelgard moved back into her starting position and waited for Sylvain to get to his. “Perhaps you could try not going easy on me next time,” she suggested.

“I’m not going easy!” he protested. “You got me fair and square.”

If he were genuinely one to make such rookie mistakes, he would never have gotten a perfect score on that exam. Even if the lance wasn’t his main weapon, he wouldn’t have left himself open like that if he were taking this fight seriously. “Do you respect me so little that you would throw a match and then lie about it?”

He looked affronted. “You wound me! I have nothing but respect for beautiful ladies like yourself.”

“Then prove it.” She didn’t give him time to respond, or to think, before swinging her axe down on him. The blow wouldn’t kill him - probably - but it would most certainly leave his head ringing and swollen for days if it connected.

As she’d expected, though, Sylvain dodged out of the way with practiced ease. But when she braced herself for the sharp jab to the side that such a blow left her open for, none came. Sylvain danced away, first to a sensible distance where he could hit her without her striking back, and then a bit closer, to a distance where his lance was rendered ineffective. As if she wouldn't notice.

“I won’t land another point on you until you take this seriously,” she warned him, moving herself back out to circling range.

“A whole night alone with a pretty girl?” He smirked. “You know I won’t complain.”

Regret tightened her fists around her axe. He wouldn’t really throw a fight to flirt… would he?

“Oh, we won’t be alone.” She gave him an innocent smile. “I’m sure Hubert will wonder where I am soon enough. In fact…” She craned her neck to look over Sylvain’s shoulder, into the deep shadows behind him. “Who knows? He might be here already. Watching us.”

He glanced backwards, and she took the opportunity to dart forward and sweep his legs. He landed on his back with an explosion of breath.

“I thought you weren’t going to land any points on me,” he wheezed.

“It’s only a point if my weapon hits you.” She stood over him, twirling her axe. “Are you ready to actually try?”

“I think you overestimate me,” he said, holding his free hand out. “Help a poor guy up?”

She grasped his wrist, and the next thing she knew, the hard length of the lance slammed into the backs of her knees and Sylvain had her in his place on the sand, the point of the lance pressed neatly against her chest. He tapped it on the gold braid of her collar, grinning. “That's one point. Serious enough for you?”

“I suppose it will do,” she said. She held out her hand. “Help me up?”

He laughed. “You can’t expect me to fall for my own trick.”

“I would never be so predictable.” She made a grabbing motion, and Sylvain sighed, reaching down for her.

It was a bit difficult to replicate what he’d done - she didn’t have a lance, and the particulars of how he’d moved had been lost in her surprise - but she was pleased that she managed to get him on the ground.

“Hey!” he complained. “I trusted you!”

Edelgard clicked her tongue. “In a fight?” She tapped him lightly with her axe. “A bit foolhardy, wouldn’t you say?”

She moved back to her starting position before Sylvain could ask for a hand again.

He hauled himself to his feet, dusting himself off as he walked. “Just a bit dishonorable, is all I’m saying,” he grumbled.

“And where were those delicate sensibilities when you did the same to me?”

“I’m just not used to having it dished out by someone else." He readied himself, and they began again.

The rest of the fight went well: the rounds were longer and more satisfying, and Sylvain even scored a point on her before she landed her third hit. It had been a close thing, and it very nearly cost her the match.

And yet, she still felt as if he was holding back.

It aggravated her more than it should have, watching him wave cheerily back at her as he made his way to the dorms. What possible reason could he have to cling so tightly to this veneer of mediocrity?

Hubert melted from the darkness beside the giant wooden doors, giving Edelgard a deferential nod.

“I didn’t think you were actually hiding in the shadows,” she mused.

“You looked in the wrong direction, at least.” He pointed his chin towards the opposite wall. “I was over there at the time.”

She smiled fondly. “Vigilant as always, Hubert.”

“I hope you got what you needed from him,” Hubert said. “I cannot say I find it wise for you to waste your time with someone of his caliber.”

Her gaze strayed to where she’d last seen him, before he’d been swallowed up by the night. “...I am not so sure.”

“If the difference in your grades truly bothers you that much, you should know that my offer still stands.”

“It isn’t that,” she said. Not entirely, at least. Not anymore. “There’s something… off about him. I’m curious to find out what it is.”

Hubert sighed. "Very well.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if theres mistakes dont blame my beta i keep jumping the gun and posting before they can give it a once-over SORRY DIX

Sylvain assumed that Edelgard would be done with him after the night in the training grounds. He was more than a little surprised, then, to find Hubert waiting for him outside of the Blue Lions’ lecture hall.

“Hubert!” he greeted, stretching his arms up behind his head in a performance of nonchalance, trying to hide his alarm. His classmates filed out around him, casting looks his way that ranged from confusion to concern. "What brings you to this particular doorway?"

"Lady Edelgard would like…" His face twisted with distaste. "...she would like you to help her study."

Sylvain took a good, long second to blink at him. "Study?"

"Study."

"Me."

"Yes, you." His expression grew more sour by the second; Sylvain was torn between pushing the man further and keeping his own head on his neck.

Felix passed by them - he must have stayed behind to ask the professor something - and Sylvain tried desperately to catch his attention.

Their eyes met just over Hubert's shoulder. Sylvain gave him a pleading look.

Felix rolled his eyes and walked away.

_ Traitor, _ he wanted to yell after him.

Hubert shifted, blocking Felix from view. "Is there an issue?"

"I'm just... not sure I would be the best person to help. If she's having trouble with math, Annette is great at that kind of -"

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. "I insist," Hubert said.

“Well,” said Sylvain, feeling distinctly like he was being kidnapped. “If you insist.”

* * *

They arrived safely at the library, where Edelgard had claimed a back table. Like she was hiding. Was she embarrassed? By Sylvain seeing her struggling? Or by the prospect of being seen with him?

As soon as the doors opened, she slipped the piece of paper she’d been writing on into her pocket. “Sylvain,” she smiled. “Thank you for coming!”

“How could I refuse?” he asked, sliding into the seat next to hers. She shifted in her chair to put more space between them - a small thing, but interesting. He filed it away for later. “After Hubert asked so nicely.”

Edelgard nodded. “Thank you, Hubert,” she said. He bowed and turned, leaving them to peruse the shelves.

She wanted to be alone with him. Sylvain filed that away too.

“So, Princess,” he said, leaning over to see the book that she was reading: a respectably high-level tactics primer. She leaned back to give him room. “What’s the problem here?”

“I’m afraid I just don’t understand… any of it.”

The way she’d led her team during the mock battle made that a little hard to swallow. And that short pause…

But when he looked back at her, she didn’t  _ look  _ like she was lying. Maybe she was just good at it.

“And why’d you ask me?” he asked. “Claude’s probably your better bet. Or… Well, this scenario definitely calls for a guerilla assault, so Professor Byleth would know about that too.”

Edelgard frowned. "A guerilla assault?" She pointed at a line in the description. "My forces are roughly the same size as my enemy's - a bit larger, even. There's no need for it."

Sylvain raised his eyebrow. "That’s a strong opinion for someone who doesn't understand any of this."

A look of indignation flashed across her face before it was tamped down. "You're right," she said, and it sounded like she was pulling the words from herself the same way she might yank out her own teeth. "I don't." Then she recovered and gave him a pleasant, courtly smile. "Can you explain why?"

Swallowing her pride to ask for help she didn't need from someone she didn't need it from… It was a textbook strategy. No doubt what she'd shoved in her pocket earlier were her actual answers that she would be turning in. What she was doing here had nothing to do with getting help for homework.

He gave her a charming smile and shifted closer, resting his arm on the back of her chair. She didn't lean in like most other girls would - shy, most likely. He'd seen that before. But why else would she call him here to "help" with "studying" if not to flirt? He could feel Hubert’s eyes boring into his back - obviously, he didn’t approve. If this hadn’t been Edelgard’s intention, Hubert would have stepped in long before now.

It was odd, though, that he would. He couldn’t imagine this was an affair of the heart for Edelgard; she was much too controlled for that. But if this were a calculated move, for his Crest or some other political gain, Sylvain couldn’t imagine why Hubert would be against it.

No matter. Her reasons would make themselves known eventually. Until then, he might as well have fun playing the game.

"Of course I'll explain, Princess," he said indulgently. "See these trees?" He pointed onto the map. The two forces were separated by a set of hills, with a valley between them. The side Edelgard had chosen was out in the open, but the enemy side had taken refuge on the other side of a small forest. "They’re perfect for a small team to hide in. You could send a handful of men to wait there. Provoke an attack, pick them off in the woods, and then deal with the rest of them once they emerge."

“Why not simply burn the forest down while the enemy army is going through it?” She carefully avoided brushing his hand as she marked a path through the hills. “Half of my force can meet the survivors in the valley, and the other half can intercept anyone trying to retreat.”

It relied too much on brute strength for his liking, but it was certainly one way to do it. “I guess. Though, you’d have to have some way to signal to any of your men on the inside that it was about to go up in flames -”

“Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean?”

_ “Assuming  _ I chose to leave men in the trees,” she said pointedly, “any signal I gave them might alert the enemy as well. Even if I lose a few men in the forest, the blow it deals to my enemy outweighs those losses.”

She must have seen the shocked look on his face, because she smiled and backtracked immediately. “Of course, that might be a bit too cutthroat of me.” She flipped over the page. “What about this one?”

She did a much better job of keeping her thoughts firmly to herself for the next couple questions they went over. The only opinions she voiced were shared in the service of pulling a new stratagem from him.

It was a shame, really. He’d actually enjoyed hearing her thoughts. But if anyone understood the sacrifices one needed to make while flirting, it was Sylvain.

He made sure to do his part: bumping shoulders, bumping knees, guiding her hand with his own. And of course, he held back on his own thoughts as well, urging her to share her own solutions and praising her for them even when he saw a gaping hole in the idea. It was all incredibly textbook, but Edelgard wasn't striking him as someone who was comfortable with anything too far off the beaten path. He was willing to do this dance with her as long as she needed to be comfortable.

They'd been at it for about an hour when Edelgard shot to her feet, the abrupt movement knocking his arm off the back of her chair. "Sylvain," she said, very carefully. Her face had a slight flush to it, and her hands were clenched at her sides. "Would you like to spar again?"

Most of the girls he went out with only challenged him to a fight if they caught him flirting with someone else. But he imagined this was how Ingrid would flirt, too, if she ever found herself inclined to flirt. He smiled encouragingly at her, because who was he to judge? "Of course, Princess."

* * *

After the hour she'd had, it felt good to swing something at Sylvain’s face.

He dodged, of course, which was a bit disappointing. But she would take her catharsis where she could get it.

The training grounds were much more crowded at this hour - Dimitri was there with Ingrid and Dedue, and Felix was fighting with Ignatz a couple paces away. She worried that Sylvain might embarrass her in front of them, but for some reason, he kept himself under control during their fight. Edelgard didn’t bother with making sure he gave her a good fight; that wasn’t her goal this time. She scored three points on him, each one easier than the last as she wore him down with one blow after the other. When it came time to part ways, she gave him a polite congratulation and left before he could say anything in return.

Hubert appeared by her side soon after she left. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" he asked.

Edelgard sighed. It felt like every time she was about to get somewhere with Sylvain, she lost him. "I don't know. He's driving me insane."

"Might I suggest not talking to him?" Hubert asked smoothly.

She looked up at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you."

"Just because I have indulged your strange fascination with him does not mean I share in it."

"He's hiding something! Did you know today he congratulated me for suggesting that swordsmen should be sent to head off a squad of pegasus knights? Pegasus knights, Hubert! They can  _ fly! _ I said it to lure him into correcting me, but he just...  _ wouldn't!" _

"Have you considered he is just stupid."

"I'm telling you he isn't."

"But why are you so set on proving it?"

Why, indeed? She hardly even cared about the exam anymore - he was clearly skilled enough to have earned his score, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

But  _ why  _ did he hide it? Sitting next to him felt like sitting next to someone in a full suit of armor: everything came through distorted and filtered, with the person inside so obscured that one could only see shadowed slices of their face.

Edelgard thought of the discussion they'd had earlier that day, before he'd descended into that insipid flirting. Perhaps she had no right to it, but she wanted to see that part of him again. She wanted to see who he was behind his strange, exhausting armor.

Finally, she said: "I want to crack him open like a nut."

Hubert looked down at her, the very picture of defeat. "If you must."

* * *

Sylvain now had four bruises from sparring with Edelgard. He remembered one girl he'd gone out with about a month ago who'd left hickeys all over his neck and shoulders - "Something to remember me by," she'd said. Maybe this was like that. He loosened out his shoulder, feeling the way his bicep ached. He'd be remembering Edelgard, alright.

Across the grounds, Ingrid traded off with Dedue, sitting down to drink some water while Dimitri kept going. Sylvain walked over to her, smiling.

"Ingrid!" he said. "You're a girl, right?"

She fixed him with a look. "You're not going to start hitting on me now that you finally noticed, are you?"

"Please. I would never flirt with a girl who didn't want to flirt back."

She scoffed at him. "Sure."

"I'm serious! That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been getting a lot of mixed signals recently."

"With Edelgard?"

"Yeah. She keeps asking me to do things with her, but -"

"Sylvain, she hates you."

"You didn't let me finish!"

Ingrid smacked him in the gut where Edelgard had rammed the butt of her axe. Sylvain sucked in a quick breath.

"Girls don't do that to guys they like."

"No, she - look - Dimitri!" he called.

"Yes, Sylvain?" Dimitri called back, not looking away from Dedue.

"You know Edelgard, right?"

"I  _ knew  _ her," he corrected, dodging away from Dedue's axe. "It was a long time ago."

"Yeah, but you were friends."

"I would like to think so, yes."

"Great. So I need you to tell me if she's trying to get in my pants or -"

Dimitri stumbled, and Dedue had to throw himself off to the side to avoid hitting him. Dimitri swung around to face Sylvain, face flushed a deep red.  _ "What?" _

"She asked me to study with her today! And she was  _ obviously  _ flirting -"

"Maybe she simply needed help, Sylvain -"

"But she  _ didn't  _ though!"

Ingrid frowned. "Why else would she ask you to help her study?"

"Why would she ask  _ you  _ to help her study in the first place?" Felix cut in. He and Ignatz had gotten closer to the conversation at some point; Sylvain hadn't thought he'd been listening in.

Sylvain threw his hands into the air - then put them down after his body reminded him of all his new bruises. None on the face at least, which was nice of Edelgard. "That's what I'm saying!" he cried. "I'm the worst person to ask! And not that any of you would know, but asking a guy for help with something is the most  _ basic  _ move.”

“Dorothea asked me to help her move some of her furniture the other day,” Dimitri said, crossing his arms. “I do not think that -”

“She was,” Sylvain groaned. He dragged his hands down his face. Talking to these people had been a mistake. “She literally was.”

“She was, Your Highness,” Dedue added helpfully.

Dimitri flushed. “Oh.”

“Well, that makes sense, though,” Ingrid said. “Dimitri is really strong. I’d probably ask him for help too. It doesn’t mean I’m flirting with him.”

“But that’s what I’m saying! Edelgard  _ can  _ do her homework! She was doing it when I walked in, I swear to the goddess!” He felt like he was losing his mind explaining this.

Dimitri walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Do not sell yourself short, my friend! You have much to offer.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m a great boyfriend -”

Ingrid flicked him on the ear. “He was talking about your grades, idiot.”

“You’re a shit boyfriend,” Felix added.

“You know,” Ignatz said, “if you want to talk to your friends, we can stop.”

Felix sneered, swinging his sword so hard Ignatz had to jump out of the way instead of parrying. “Shut up and fight.”

“Be nice to him!” Ingrid called as Felix drove Ignatz across the grounds.

“She was not actually flirting with me, was she?” Dimitri was murmuring to Dedue.

“She kept complimenting your arms, Your Highness. I thought you knew.”

“I assumed she was just -”

“Hey!” Sylvain snapped his fingers. “Can we get back to me, please!”

“I’m just not seeing it, Sylvain,” Ingrid said.

“And you did get the highest score on our last exam,” Dimitri added, smiling. “I have been meaning to congratulate you on that, actually.”

Sylvain blinked. “I did?”

“You didn’t even check?” Ingrid asked. “You really should care more about your grades.” She gave him a congratulatory punch on the shoulder, and he winced. “Ah, sorry about that. But good job!”

“Thanks. But that still doesn’t explain -”

“Look.” Ingrid stood, putting down her waterskin and picking up her lance. “Maybe she just wanted a second opinion from the guy with the highest score. Not everyone who wants to spend time with you wants to sleep with you. Dedue!”

He looked over at her.

“Tag out?”

He nodded, taking her spot on the edge of the training grounds. He sat a small distance away from Sylvain. They watched Ingrid and Dimitri spar for a long, silent while before he spoke.

“It does seem a bit strange,” he said, soft enough that only the two of them could hear.

Sylvain threw his - uninjured - arm into the air.  _ “Thank  _ you!”

“I do not think she would invite you to study without an ulterior motive. Your grades are impressive, but hers are as well.”

“So she’s flirting with me.”

Dedue held up his hand. “You did not let me finish. Ingrid is right - you do not get that many bruises from someone who likes you.”

“Well, you might  _ think  _ that, but I’ve actually -”

“You know what I mean,” Dedue said, before he could finish the thought.

Sylvain sighed. “Yeah, yeah. But what else could she want from me?”

“Besides what your friends have already suggested?”

“Besides that.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Gautier is a valuable asset to the Kingdom,” he began, but Sylvain cut him off.

“I already told her it wasn’t gonna happen.”

“Hm.” Dedue fell silent again, eyes following Dimitri with the absent ease of habit. “Perhaps it would be easiest to talk to her,” he finally said.

“Talking with her is what got me so confused in the first place!”

“I mean actually talk to her,” Dedue said. “Explain your confusion. Communicate with her.”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh,” Sylvain groaned, leaning back until he was laying on the ground. “But I hate communicating! Every girl that asks to communicate more ends up breaking up with me within the week.”

“You and Edelgard aren’t together,” Dedue pointed out. “And she has already taken an axe to you in what looked very much like a fit of rage. Surely she can do no worse.”

“I  _ guess.”  _ He hated this. Dedue was right, but he still hated it.

“But please do not agree to spar with her anymore.”

“Aw, Dedue.” He turned his head to shoot a sappy smile his way. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Dedue looked him dead in the eye. “I do care,” he said. “Aside from His Highness, you are the only person here who has been truly kind to me. I consider you a friend.”

“O… oh.” He hadn’t expected a serious response.

“That is an example of communication,” Dedue continued. “In case you were unsure how it works.”

“Dedue…" He grinned. "Are you messing around with me?”

“That was the intent, yes. But I was not lying, if that was your implication.”

“That’s real sweet. Thanks for giving me the time of day, buddy.”

Dedue inclined his head, and they fell into another comfortable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my outline: okay and then sylvain talks to his friends real quick and decides to talk to edelgard  
> me, looking at my personal interpretations of felix (unhelpful), dedue (reluctant to speak), ingrid (acearo), and dimitri (ace and romance blind): haha "real quick"? i think you mean half the chapter


End file.
